Oh, Baby

The market for nursery décor and other baby products is crowded, and it can be difficult for new and expecting parents to make a decision on what to buy. Licensing helps marketers differentiate and add trust. Conversely, the category is attractive to licensors due to its growth prospects; most of the many researchers studying the market expect industry sales to grow about 5% annually for the next few years.

While a variety of properties have entered into licensing deals or collaborations in this category of late, one notable area of activity consists of celebrities jumping into the market while expecting or after recently giving birth. As with all celebrities, these personalities have big platforms on social media and elsewhere that represent a marketing advantage for their collaborators. In addition, their role as new or expecting parents gives them some expertise and credibility in the category and makes them more relatable to consumers who are in the market for infant products themselves.

Examples within the last year have included:

• Tan France, fashion designer, Queer Eye design expert, and TV presenter, collaborating with Nestig on a collection of nursery furniture and décor. The products are inspired by France’s first son, Ismail, and his love of monkeys. Both France and Nestig specialize in products that are long-lasting, sustainable, and timeless in design.

• Reality star and entrepreneur Kylie Jenner extending her Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin businesses into a new spin-off, Kylie Baby. A mother of two, she began working on the products after the birth of her first child. The collection consists of gentle and clean baby care products with natural and botanical ingredients, including shampoo, moisturizer, and conditioner. Coty is Jenner’s partner, holding a 51% ownership share of the business.

• Actress Lindsay Lohan pairing with Nestig for a nursery collection inspired by the ocean. Nestig and Lohan created a collection of custom products for Lohan’s first child’s nursery, which were made available for fans to shop. The pieces included coordinated rugs, murals, crib sheets, wallpaper, and a mobile.

• Naomi Osaka, tennis player and fashion designer, working with Crate & Barrel’s Crate & Kids brand on a co-branded and curated collection inspired by her first baby. The pieces were designed to work for children both when they are infants and as they enter into slightly older stages as well.

This has been an active period for collaborations and licensing agreements in what is a perennially important category for IP owners across property types. Some of the deals announced in recent months, outside the celebrity sphere, include design label Emily & Merritt joining forces with Pottery Barn Kids, BabyGap with Delta Children, shoe designer Sarah Flint with Namesake, and Mattel with Evolur for Barbie and Dream On Me for Fisher-Price, among others.